Interiors Part 1: Personal Style

Having lived in short-term holiday let flats for two months now I am starting to crave some real home comforts. The first two flats that we stayed in were peoples’ homes which made them feel more loved, with well thumbed books on shelves, old family photos stuffed into cupboards and personalised mugs half hidden behind conventional white ones (yes, I’m too nosy for my own good!).

Both of these flats had their owners’ styles written all over them but even in the second flat, with its purple velvet sofa, brass bedstead, thick floral curtains and more vintage knick knacks that you could shake a stick at, I didn’t feel completely at ease. Someone else’s style, interior design or even the layout they’ve chosen for their furniture just doesn’t feel as right as my own would.

I find myself moving things around. The table in the place where we are staying now was originally at the back of the room, sitting in the gloom. I brought it to the window and find it makes the whole room’s feng shui feel much better. That brings me onto what I have discovered is the most important thing to me in a house; natural light. Without it I feel like the short winter hours of daylight hardly penetrate the room and I end of feeling like I’m living in cave. I am so looking forward to moving into our proper flat as it is on the second floor and has huge windows in every room.

I’ve also noticed, much to my chagrin, that the style favoured by the letting agent in flats which aren’t peoples’ homes (like the place we are staying at the moment) is the sort of faux vintage, French style which, when attempted with flimsy MDF furniture, falls so short of the mark that it makes me sad! 

It might seem as though I am asking far too much of a rented flat but all I really want now is to have a place to settle into. Regardless of the layout, space or location of a flat when I move into a place of my own I immediately dec it out with all of the small things which make a place feel like home to me. I also believe that you can find sturdy, well-made, beautiful vintage furniture for not very much money. We went for a walk the other day and stumbled across a warehouse full of furniture which was being sold for charity (much like the Sofa Project from which we bought our sofa in Bristol) and I often see lovely pieces in charity and vintage shops for not very much money at all. Small pieces like chest of drawers, coffee tables, bed-side tables and display cabinets, can be added to collections of furniture which are often included in rented accommodation and can make a huge difference to the overall style of a flat.

I love houses which feel lived in, family friendly, loved and slightly worn out in a shabby chic kind of way. I found Terence Conran’s ‘The Essential House Book’ on the shelves of the second holiday let and spent a couple of hours dreaming of the perfect interior of my future house. Stay tuned for the second part of this interiors post to see the pictures I took of my favourite interiors from the book!